A New War
by The Real Lee is here
Summary: Bern is preparing for, something. War, but with who, and why. The King of Bern was dead, and Zephiel had taken power. All evidence said that things should be peaceful, so why did Mark feel like war was on the horizon?
1. Prologue : Green Cloaks

I don't own Fire Emblem

AN : Yes, I am starting another story. This time a Novelization of Fire Emblem 6. As you can plainly see, I have put the tactician in, however his role won't be very big later on in the tale. Anyway, here it goes. Read and Review

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><p>Mark was looking over the latest report from his eyes in Bern. It was interesting, to say the least. It all started about 4 months ago, when the King died and Zephiel assumed the throne. All of his information told him that Zephiel had been assassinated by his father, yet that surprise came out of nowhere. After all, he had helped prevent one of the King's many attempts to end the young Prince's life. Second, many of the Nobles in Bern started hiring many more Ilian mercenaries than usual. Mark had yet to accept one of their offers, as they were simply massing in preparation to fight, and he had no information on who was on who's side. He would not risk selling troops to both sides of a conflict, it was bad for the mercenary group's image. And finally, Bern was stockpiling weapons, armor, and food. All signs pointed to Bern preparing for civil war.<p>

However, after the death of the King, Bern continued stockpiling weapons, armor, and food. Most of the hired Ilian mercenaries have returned, over 1000 if the estimates were correct, but Bern was still preparing for war. The returning mercenaries was surprising, since after the death of the King, Mark would not have been surprised if Etruria attacked. Tensions were still very high when the two nations fought war for the tactician.

Mark walked over to a window in his office. It was late at night, everything was obscured by a typical Ilian blizzard, and he quickly calculated how far he could see. It was about 2 yards. He couldn't even see the ground. Mark sighed as he returned to his desk.

He had done well for himself these past 15 years since his journeys with Eliwood, Hector, and Lyndis. After he faked his death, ending the war between Bern and Etruria in the process, he had become quite successful under the alias Christophe. Running a mercenary group in Ilia had been a perfect retirement. It was where he belonged, in a state of constant conflict. It was what he thrived on, and under him the Green Cape mercenary group flourished. He was free to pick and choose who joined and who was turned away.

There was a sudden pounding before the door to his office opened and Mark's assistant hobbled in. It was Michael, one of the first men to take the training to become a Pegasus rider. Of course, he wasn't allowed to become a pegasus rider, as he was a man. So, Michael did the smart thing, he stole a Pegasus, flew up high, fell off, and by the grace of God somehow survived an impossible fall. Could never ride any animal again, became useless in a fight. However he was good at managing information and he came cheep, so Mark brought him in and put him to work. "Christophe, sir. I've prepared a list of all candidates who want to join our organization. As always, we have a lot of Pegasus riders trying to join. However we also have a large amount of magic users looking to join. At least 7 healers."

Mark looked at the stack of papers his assistant brought. It was at least a foot tall. He'd probably finish by noon tomorrow. "Thank you Michael, you can head home, I've kept you here for too long."

"Have a goodnight sir." Michael said as he hobbled away, closing the door behind him.

Mark gazed out the window as the blizzard raged on. He didn't like what was going on in Bern, he knew what they were doing, but he didn't know why. There were no signs of civil strife, the country as a whole seemed to be content that Zephiel was the King now. The only logical reason for an arms buildup is that Bern is preparing for war, but since no country has any intention to invade Bern, Bern must intend to invade.

Still, Mark wasn't yet sure if he was simply being paranoid, but this was a good enough reason to make their position more defensible, have a few more escape routes prepared, buy some ballistae, and if the worse should come, have something prepared to destroy the fort so the enemy couldn't use it. Perhaps a larger version of the mine that he used once with Eliwood and his companions. That would be perfect if he could control when it went off.

There was a quiet tap at his door, and Mark instantly knew who it was. Only one person tapped his door. "Jacob, you can come in." For now, he could ignore the problems of the world and focus on his adopted son.

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><p>AN : Yes, it is short. It's the prologue. It isn't supposed to be long. So read and Review, blah blah blah.<p>

Now then, This is Lee, and I'm out!


	2. Chapter 1 : Burning Plains

I do not own Fire Emblem

AN : Just finished this chapter, and it starts at the beginning of everything. This novelization won't be solely following Roy and the Lycean Alliance. After all, it is a war that consumes an entire continent, and I will be playing with the canon.

Also, fans of the Devil Dog, next chapter should be up either tonight or tomorrow.

Also, thank you Anarion Star-Dragon for reviewing more than everyone else.

Now let us begin with the Burning Plains.

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><p>"We're going to die, aren't we?" Snow asked as she paced around the prison cell.<p>

"Probably." Luke said, annoyed at how Snow was acting.

"Stop it, you two, we are not going to die. " Marisa calmly said as she gazed out at the Sacaen plains. She hated working with new recruits. Christophe had broken them in, but they weren't ready for this. She was panicking too, but she knew how to hide it, and how to think in these situations.

They were sitting in a cart, trapped behind bars, and surrounded by the Bern Army, with one of their Generals, Brunya. Sacae was lost, that was certain. With the Djute tribe aiding Bern there wasn't much hope. Still, all she needed to get out was for their guards to fall asleep. Then they needed to get back to Ilia, Christophe needed to know about the people who transform into Dragons.

Of course, it would be much easier if Jacob came to help.

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><p>Jacob thanked all that was holy that it was a moonless night as he slunk through the shadows in the Bern army camp. Everything had gone wrong, they were only there to help the Kutolah deal with some bandits when Bern invaded. Jacob had twelve people with him, and after the initial onslaught they were all captured or killed.<p>

Now, he was going to fix things. He didn't escape capture to just run home. He needed to slow Bern down and free his people. He was armed perfectly to sow some chaos in this camp. He had been leaving a trail of grease as he searched the camp for his people.

Jacob froze, blending effortlessly with the shadows as some of the night guards passed by him. The loud winds of the plains covering up the sound of his breathing.

Once the guards had passed Jacob kept moving, going from shadow to shadow. Once Jacob reached the cell holding the prisoners he let out a sigh of relief. Not because some of his friends survived, but because two of the three guards were asleep. The guard that was awake looked very upset. Jacob began laying out a plan.

Jacob was on the east side of the prison area, and the guard who wasn't asleep was facing north, staring directly at the prisoners. The other two guards were sitting in their chairs on the west side of the prison area, sleeping. Most of the camp was sleeping, but it would take very little to wake the camp and ruin everything. The plan would be simple, stay in the shadows, and get behind the only guard doing his job. Slit his throat, finish the sleepers, and open the cell.

Jacob turned his attention to the cell as he traveled the shadows, there were 7 people in it. That was a problem. The group was too large to sneak out. He gazed at the faces. He saw only three people who were Green Cloaks. Luke, a swordsman on his second assignment, Snow, a Pegasus knight on her first, and Marisa, who could just as easily cut you down with an axe as she could with a bow, and she was the veteran overseeing them.

Jacob was behind the only vigilant guard, and he pulled his best dagger. He called it the Desafilado. It was a thin, short blade made to slip between the gaps in armor. It was difficult to use, but to Jacob it was an extension of himself. He quickly prepared himself.

Jacob thrust the blade into the guard's throat, and covered his mouth. The guard struggled for a moment before the life left him. Jacob smiled at the sight of the other guards, they were still asleep. Jacob walked leisurely over to the sleeping pair, and slit their throats.

"Hi Jacob." Marisa waved, no expression on her face. She had short, pink hair, and innumerable scars decorating her face. Jacob was sure that this was the first time he saw her without an axe.

"Good evening." Jacob whispered as he began picking the lock. "Who's with you?"

"Luke, Snow, Rath, Dayan, Guy, and Thoris."

"Jacob! You came to save us!" Snow whispered too loudly for Jacob's comfort, as she hugged him through the bars.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Jacob frantically whispered as he pushed the blue haired Pegasus knight away.

"Why are you pushing me? I'm happy to see you." Snow asked sullenly.

Snow continually annoyed Jacob. She never thought before she acted, and she was too emotional. He looked at his lock picks, they broke during that pointless hug! He gave her a glare. "You broke my lock picks."

"The guards have a key to the cell." Luke whispered, a small grin on his face. He had dark green hair, with bright blue eyes.

"Really?"

"I hope so."

Jacob groaned, of course they didn't know whether or not the guards had a key. Jacob quickly began searching the dead guards, found the key, and opened the cage.

They all thanked him as they walked out, and his people grabbed the weapons of the deceased guards. Snow looked a bit uncomfortable on the ground, as she was now without a pegasus mount and armed with only a lance. Marisa seemed to hold a sword as well as she held an axe, and Luke had a frown on his face as he swung his new sword. This, unfortunately, left the Saceans unarmed. Still, Jacob knew that his plan would provide an excellent distraction that should protect them from the enemy.

"Thank you for the aid." The oldest Sacean said. "Thoris, you will accompany them. Now I-"

"Alright, everything should be ready." Jacob said as he grabbed a torch, completely ignoring the Kutolah chief. He tossed the torch into the trail of grease he made, and smiled as it all lit up. This was perfect timing, the dry season was beginning, so the long grass would light up in a snap, and the wind directed the fire away from the escape route he had set up. "Follow me!" Jacob began running away from the fire, going through the enemy camp.

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><p>Thoris stared for a moment, not sure if he could believe what he was seeing. The Illian mercenaries followed their rescuer without a seconds hesitation. Dayan and the others quickly followed, before Thoris decided to follow them charging through the enemy.<p>

Then he saw it. The leader, Jacob, shouting at Bern soldiers, "Put out that fire! Now! Before those savages attack! We'll alert the rest of the camp!" And they obeyed. It was almost as though they never considered that prisoners might be trying to escape.

They just kept running from the fire, as the mercenary leader ordered every soldier they passed to deal with the fire. There had to have been at least over 100 enemy soldiers who obeyed without hesitation. It lasted until they reached the stable. There were eight guards there, most of them armed with a lance.

"The savages set fire to our camp! Get down there and help put it out!"

The Bern soldiers quickly began to move, but one of the guards stopped them, he was carrying a bow. "Why aren't you in uniform, who are you?"

Jacob looked at him incredulously. "Our camp is on fire and YOU'RE ASKING THAT!"

"Are those savages following you?"

At that, he paused, as some of the guards looked at each other, slowly realizing the deception. He then grabbed the man and stuck his knife into his throat. "Damn it." The mercenaries sprang into action. Thoris could only watch as they dispatched their enemies.

Snow quickly impaled the closest soldier to her, before leaving her lance in him and seizing her foe's to strike at another. Luke ran forward and stabbed one of the Bernese men before helping Snow finish her target. Marisa relieved a guard of his head and stabbed his partner, and threw him at the two remaining guards sending them to the ground. Luke and Snow quickly moved forward and killed the last two laying in the dirt. The fight had ended as quickly as it had begun.

Jacob was trying to pull his dagger out of the first soldier, who was now dead in the dirt. He looked up at his people, and said, "It's stuck."

Snow stepped forward, and planted her foot on the dead man's head. She pulled the knife out with little effort. "Here!"

Thoris looked closely at the embarrassed mercenary who had rescued them. He had a very slight build, mostly obscured by his dark green cloak. His hair was black as midnight, but his skin was a extremely pale. However the boy's defining feature were his golden eyes, they almost glowed. It looked unnatural.

Jacob grabbed his dagger and hid it within his cloak. "Grab a horse, we're leaving."

Thoris quickly grabbed the fallen bow and arrows as he looked for a suitable companion. These Bernese horses were strong, but most seemed to lack the speed of the horses on the plains.

"What are you doing? We need to get out of here now! If we don't leave now the rest of my plan won't work!" Jacob ordered.

"What are you people do-" Thoris released an arrow into the mage who arrived at the scene.

"THE ENEMY IS HERE!"

"LEAVE NOW!" Jacob's horse ran off, with the rest of the mercenaries and Guy following closely behind.

The three nomads hastily mounted a horse and followed behind. They were passing soldier after soldier, none of whom were prepared. They fled toward the edge of the camp when-

BOOM!

A bolt of lightning came down in front of Jacob. "MAGIC!"

Bolt after bolt came down as they passed the edge of the Bern army camp. It seemed that they would all escape!

BOOM!

Guy's horse collapsed as it was hit by a Bolting, throwing the Saint of Swords to the ground. "KEEP MOVING!" Jacob screamed.

However one of his people broke off from the group. The pink hair woman, Marisa, rode back toward the fallen swordsman. It seemed that she was drawing all of the enemy's magic toward her. Still, Dayan and Rath were going forward, so Thoris would follow.

BOOM!

Thoris looked back and saw that Marisa was hit, and her horse was down. He saw the woman get up, and ran for Guy. If she survived this than she was a Hero! As she pulled him up Thoris and the others come to and reached the crest of a hill. Thoris looked forward and saw the rest of the Kutolah tribe. Hundreds of nomads eager to attack Bern and Djute.

Jacob waved at the waiting men and women of Kutolah, and everyone charged. Thoris saw Dayan and Rath grab a bow and join the charge, but the mercenaries were still fleeing. Thoris watched as the last of his people crossed over the hill, and looked toward the green cloaks who had already disappeared from view. He rode off to join them, as he was told.

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><p>Snow stood watch, looking over Jacob and Luke. The two were sleeping close to a small fire they had made. She paced, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings. She couldn't stop thinking of Marisa, she was the best fighter of the team sent out here. Luke and Jacob told her that Marisa was fine, but she couldn't stop worrying.<p>

Snow whipped her head around as she heard something approach. She was ready for any attack sent her way. "Marisa, is that you?"

"No." Came a stoic reply.

"I think that's Thoris." Jacob said. Snow looked toward the pale man, who still appeared to be sleeping. "Thoris, keep watch with Snow. In a few hours let her sleep, the watch after you is me. Goodnight."

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><p><em>Personnel file, from the desk of Christophe.<em>

_Jacob , age 17, an intelligent young man. Skilled at a C level with swords and daggers. Dangerous with surprise and reliant on underhanded tactics. Excellent leader. Should be kept away from front lines. Very skilled with daggers, especially his Desafilado. What he lacks in strength he makes up for in speed, skill, and intelligence. Skilled tactician, good at making plans. Good with information. Skilled at picking locks. Very good at being unseen. Excellent liar/actor. Beat me at chess once, I had a handicap, but still impressive. Completely loyal. Rest of information secret. Search in S section._

_Snow, age 16, new recruit. Full report pending. Can use lances and ride a Pegasus. Current information incomplete. Has extreme faith in Jacob. Possible infatuation. Will be an excellent member once her energetic tendencies are under control._

_Luke, age 17, new recruit. Full report pending. Can use swords. Current information incomplete. Quickly formed friendship with Jacob. Performed first assignment exceeding expectations. Though he lacks the qualities to be a good leader, he would make an acceptable second in command. He is fast and strong, but lacks skill._

_Top Secret, Marisa, Age 35. Can use Axes at an S level, Bows at a B level, Swords at an E level, no talent with a lance. Rarely carries a sword. Helped fake Mark's death. Knows Christophe's true identity. Knows about Quintessence. Fights using speed and brute force, and very capable of overwhelming even the best of defenses. Too much of a hero. Excellent at training new recruits and making them into true Green Cloaks. She does not enjoy training new recruits. Lacks an understanding of complex tactics, unsuitable to lead groups larger than 10 into battle. Knows secret information regarding Jacob. Bit of an Ice Queen, but nice. Completely loyal._

_Defense Plans, Bern Invasion of Ilia, from the desk of Christophe, changes made update needed_

_Most effective supply line into Ilia for a Bern invasion goes next to the Green Cloaks main base built into the Sanashen Mountains. Bern will be forced to attack our fort. Very defensible position. 3 excellent choke points on the ground, but will need to assert air dominance to last. Need archers and magic users at high points to effectively attack Bern's air forces and possibly some Ilian mercenaries from rival groups. Use of incomplete secret weapons needed for effective defense. Length of best alternative supply line more than doubles length of Bern supply lines, and requires conquering Sacae. 6 Ballistae built on mountain tops to help control the skies, use and defense vital to odds of victory. Effective use of Warp and Rescue staffs vital to mountain top forces. Loss of Sanashen Mountains base very damaging to our wealth, as most merchants use the relatively short path, kept safe by us. Number of escape tunnels prepared, TOP SECRET. Number of Rescue Staff escape points, TOP SECRET. Emergency base purge plans in case of defeat, TOP SECRET.  
>Odds of victory against one Dragon General and their forces, 5%. More preparation needed.<em>

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><p>AN : Just so you all know, I will be putting in things Mark has written in every chapter at the end. Although they probably won't be that long. Also Mark's writing style changes when it's say, a journal entry during the war against Nergal, a note he wrote during the war for the Supreb Mind, or a file written under the name Christophe.<p>

Anyway, in your reviews (or review) please tell me about both the main story and Christophe's entries and plans.

Also, please review, it would make me happy.


	3. Chapter 2 : Fall of The Pass

I don't own fire emblem

AN : I'm back. This is the first time I've written a battle, and it is short, for a battle. Let me know what you think of the fight.

Also, Thank you Gunlord500 for leaving 2 reviews, and they were good ones! Golden-eyed person, jacob, is important, and the story will mainly be following him. Or at least stuff going on around him.

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><p>Jacob was laying in the grass, his eyes sealed. He couldn't sleep. He was thinking about Marisa. She hadn't come back yet. It's been a couple of hours since Thoris arrived, or at least he assumed it has been a couple of hours since Snow has gone to sleep. It would be even more unwelcomed if it was Thoris trying to snuggle him.<p>

Jacob hoped that Marisa was alright, she should be back soon if she is. If she isn't, he didn't know what he would do. She was the best fighter sent with them, she was one of the best fighters in their mercenary group. No one was better with an ax than Marisa. If she died... Jacob didn't want to think of it! If he had known that it would take this long for Marisa to come back then he would have gone back to help.

But he didn't go back, and Jacob knew that he couldn't go back. He needed to see his dad and let him know what Bern was doing, and what it planned to do. He needed to let Christophe know that Bern was planning to invade Ilia, that they were going to have an army go through the Sanashen Pass, and that Dragons have returned.

Dragons. His dad may have experienced a lot, but there was no way Christophe, as smart as he is, knows how to effectively fight a dragon. Marisa would have been helpful, since she was the only one in the group who could actually hurt the dragons. So maybe they should go back for her.

However, the dragons were human then transformed into dragons. What would his dad do when dragons suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the door? Sure his dad made more preparations than Jacob thought possible to defend their home, though with Bern invading it would not be enough, and his dad would never prepare for a dragon invasion. Their only hope was to prepare an escape before Bern and its dragons arrived.

So, they couldn't go back. They didn't have time. They needed to warn their people. Then again, maybe his dad knew what Bern was doing, he had been improving the defenses of the fort as long as Jacob could remember, then five years ago became zealous in the preparations. His dad probably knew what Bern was doing, so it would be okay if he went back for Marisa.

But there were dragons, there was no way his dad prepared for dragons. He could split, have two go back for Marisa and two go warn his dad. No, too much risk of getting captured by Bern. Marisa was a lost cause. They couldn't go and help her. If she's dead than she's dead, if she's alive then she'll do her best to help the Kutolah fight Bern. They could not go back for her. They should not go back.

Jacob gently pushed the girl snuggling into him away as he pulled himself up. He couldn't sleep so why try. "Go to sleep Thoris, I'm sure you need some rest."

"You need rest." The Sacean stoically replied. He was gazing out at the empty plains, his back to the fire.

"Can't sleep. Either way, I'm not that useful in a fight. When we get in a fight with Bern forces you, Luke and Snow will be doing most of the fighting. You need the rest more than I do." Jacob walked over and sat beside Thoris. "So get some rest."

"My watch is not over."

Jacob stared at the nomad, then came to a simple conclusion. "Worried about the Kutolah?

"...We will stand strong."

"I understand." Jacob said as they gazed at the open plains.

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><p>"Are we close?" Thoris asked. The air had become frigid as the group approached the Sanashen mountains. Still, there was no wind, so Thoris was happy knowing that it could have been much colder. Still, a little sun would have made everything better.<p>

"Yeah, there's a couple roads through the mountains that will take us to the Green Cloak's home base." Jacob said as he led the group. As their horses walked up the path Jacob groaned. "Oh my God what happened?"

Thoris brought his horse up next to Jacob's and saw it. The road disappeared under a massive pile of stone and snow. "There must have been an avalanche. Let's check one of the other roads." Luke said.

"Not yet. Wait here." Jacob said as he rode down to the blocked road. Thoris watched as he checked the blocked road, before he pulled something out of the snow. He rode up, and threw a steel helm to Luke. "Bern's here. My dad must have caused the avalanche somehow while Bern was trying to get through. He probably crushed a lot of people then killed the group who got past. My dad probably blocked all three roads in, or at least two of them."

"So Bern's between us and... Great, we aren't getting in." Luke groaned.

"No, we're getting in. My dad has an escape tunnel built into the fort, should be west of here. We'll go in through there, meet up with the rest of the Green Cloaks, then figure out what to do. I'm sure my dad has some kind of plan, and even if he doesn't, he probably has some idea of what Bern's plans are. Follow me." Jacob rode westward along the mountains, occasionally checking a map.

Thoris was surprised at how little they questioned Jacob. He had expected these mercenaries to at least consider the logic behind infiltrating a fort that was most likely under siege by a massive Bernese army. They either trusted Jacob's judgment too much, or the Chief of the Green Cloaks was an unparalleled mind.

"Who is the Chief of the Green Cloaks?" Thoris asked.

"Jacob's dad, Christophe. Though they don't really look alike. At all." Luke said.

"My dad is a genius. I've never seen him surprised, he always seems to know what's going on. If anyone knows what to do it's him. I trust him to find a way to break Bern and their dragons." Jacob said as he stopped at a very large rock. He hopped off his horse. "Help me push it."

They all got off their horses and pushed the stone, an action Thoris at first thought was futile. The rock wouldn't budge an inch. Suddenly it gave way under their weight, as it opened up and they all fell in. Except for Jacob and Snow, he was too the left of the stone door, she was too the right of it. "Jacob, did you do that so I wouldn't get hurt?"

"Actually, the rock was supposed to move, not open. You could barely fit three people through this door. Weird. Ah well, follow me." Jacob said as he walked over the two men laying on the ground.

Thoris and Luke pushed themselves up and followed, both clearly annoyed at Jacob rushing into the tunnel. It was dark, it seemed that there were no lights in the tunnel. Then a flame came to life.

"Found some torches. Must be a few dozen. Now get over here, I don't want to use more than one. Also, close the door."

They closed the door and all ran up to Jacob. Thoris noticed that the tunnel must have been built into a preexisting cave, as it didn't seem practical for it to widen out so much. Then Thoris saw something he had never imagined. A lake, an underground lake.

"By Father Sky and Mother Earth, how does a lake form in stone?" Thoris asked.

"It is called an aquifer, we're getting close. This supplies all of the water the fort uses." Jacob told the group.

"I didn't even know this was here." Snow said.

"Neither did I." Luke admitted.

"I'm surprised too. I did not know that this was what my dad meant by a "secret and hidden lake." I was just asking myself how you hide a lake for years." Jacob admitted with a chuckle.

"How much longer until we reach the fort?" Snow whined.

"It's ten miles to the fort once you reach the mountains from the nearest road, and we've been walking for fifteen minutes. This will not be a short tunnel. Hell, we're lucky a natural tunnel exists that reaches our base!"

"So this cave is a few miles long?" Luke asked.

"I don't know. It could twist and turn enough that it's a few dozen miles long. I've never actually been in the escape tunnel. This is the first time I've ever been in a cave. For all I know my dad could have made hundreds of these. Now that I think about it, my dad probably has more than one escape tunnel, or at least plans to make more."

"Why would you need more than one?" Luke asked.

"Being incredibly paranoid? What, you think I understand how my dad thinks?"

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><p>It was nice knowing that he wasn't incredibly paranoid, or maybe because he was incredibly paranoid it also left him incredibly prepared. Mark watched through powerful binoculars as Bern's forces mobilized outside of the mountains. They had a nice little choke point to funnel the poor Bern soldiers into the grinder. An eleven mile road that had very minor twists and turns, wide enough for 10 skinny people to stand shoulder to shoulder. 7 if they were of average size.<p>

Still, Mark knew that he was hopelessly outnumbered. Bern had tens of thousands ready to attack, he had 753 people, 134 of them vital magic users who would decide how Bern's victory played out. All of their weapons would break before they had a chance to meet half of Bern's soldiers. So he would settle for denying Bern it's desires, and giving them a Pyrrhic victory. The Sanashen base will be empty for years to come at the conclusion of the battle. The presence of Manaketes shouldn't change much. If anything it will hurt Bern to an even greater extent.

"I want you to start shooting when the wyverns come in range, both mages and Ballistae. Understood?"

"Of course sir." The captain of the mountaintop rangers, Vek, responded.

There were 7 mountaintop teams, each with a Ballistae and enough munitions to last hours. Each team consisted of 10 people, 7 archers and 3 magic users. Mark would have been happier if they had finished the planned eighth Ballistae, but they would have to make due with 7.

"Soph, take me down to the fort." Mark ordered as he approached her pegasus.

"Understood." She quickly answered as she helped him onto her steed. She had light blue hair with dark green eyes. She had two swords at her waist and kept a simple iron lance in hand, and her Pegasus had a stock of javelins strapped to him. Or maybe her Pegasus was female, Mark had trouble remembering the features of animals.

Mark kept a firm grip on Soph as he surveyed the area. The prototype weapon, while it wasn't like the mine he used back with the Lycian Lords, it was good enough to cause an avalanche. He even had more control over the detonation. A simple application of flame or heat, like a fire spell, thunder, or even just a spark could causes it to detonate. Ancient magic doesn't seem to cause it to detonate, probably because it lacks the heat needed to activate it.

Everything was perfect. Ready to make his defeat Murdock's defeat. Mark frowned as Soph brought her pegasus down. There was a Bernese soldier. Probably had some kind of message from their General. He looked very nervous, surrounded by Green Cloaks ready to end him.

"Are you the leader of the mercenaries?"

"What message did General Murdock send?" Mark sternly asked.

"How do you-"

"Look, messenger, I know that the Dragon General Murdock is the one leading the invasion of Ilia, just like I know that Brunya is invading Sacae. I've known about the invasion for years, and I've been preparing for it since Zephiel took power. There is no one on Elibe who knows more about what's going on than me! Now give me the message!" Mark shouted at the scared man before roughly taking a scroll from him. "I even knew about the Manaketes!"

Hopefully that last little lie would scare them. In truth Mark had no clue that there would be dragons. The only reason he knew about the fire breathing monsters was pure luck, a few robed Bernese soldiers turned into dragons before one of the avalanches crushed them. Perhaps they thought going into dragon form would keep the rocks from crushing them, which it didn't.

Marked opened the scroll and read Murdock's message.

_Christophe,_

_Bern is prepared to hire the entirety of Green Cloak mercenary force, paying each mercenary 5000 gold pieces for their service through the course of the entire war. That is a little less than 2,000,000 gold pieces. Your mercenary force would gain immeasurable wealth and power if you choose to deal with us. We would also purchase the Avalanche spell your forces used for the sum of 20,000 gold pieces._

Mark sighed, Murdock thought that they had less than 400 people in their ranks. The Dragon General was not working on good information. They had 753 people defending these mountains, with 134 people in the field. They had 887 people! (AN : With the casualties from Jacob's group, that is 879, or 878 if Marisa's dead) That wasn't even including the spies! And they thought that it was a spell that caused the avalanche!

_If you decline our offer, we will attack. We will take the Sanashen Mountain Pass. We will wipe out the Green Cloaks. We will take the Avalanche spell. I have seen the record of your mercenary group. You are undoubtedly an intelligent man, Christophe. I am sure you know that Ilia cannot defeat Bern, and that any resistance you show will ultimately be futile. You are impossibly outnumbered._

_Accept our offer, it is the only intelligent course of action you have._

_General Murdock._

Mark smiled, as he was already thinking of a response. He saw that there was space to write his answer on the provided scroll. Mark pulled out his personal pen. A device he made himself that had its own reserve of ink. It helped with the horrible inconvenience of dipping it in a well.

Mark rolled it up, and handed it to the messenger. "Take this to your General and have a nice day." Mark said with a smile. By the end of the battle Bern will have lost half of their invasion force, and they wouldn't have control of the pass.

Bern's messenger left, and Mark smiled. "Soph, get back into position. Once Bern's flyers reach the first Mountain top defenses attack. Prioritize wyverns with more than one person riding. Scatter their ranks then make a controlled retreat, jumping from each Mountain top position. Do not give them a chance to regroup and attack. Remember that the third position has the second ambush. Sixth position the new recruits will attack. During the controlled retreat bring the Mountain top defenders with you. Once you reach the fourth position I'll have them pulled out with Rescue staffs. Understood?"

"Of course. I'm ready to make Bern regret this war."

* * *

><p>Murdock gazed at the path before him. This was a bad situation. He hoped that Christophe would accept the offer. It would save a lot of his men's lives. Any battle here will be costly, but they couldn't turn back. The only alternative would create an easily broken supply line. He couldn't take the other path and risk having no supplies coming during an Illian winter. They needed this pass. It is Ilia's most important trade route. Enough gold is exchanged on this route to match an eighth of Bern's income from taxes. The risk of their enemy blocking off the last open past was low. It would be like cutting off their own leg.<p>

This would be an easy but expensive victory. The attack would begin once the reinforcements from the north arrive.

Murdock saw as the messenger returned. "Christophe sent his response."

"Good." Murdock said as he took the scroll. He opened it and saw the message beneath his.

_Murdock,_

_The actual cost would be 4,435,000 gold pieces. And no, we will not accept your offer. Twenty years ago I helped save Zephiel's life from the Black Fang, and now, I promise you I will be in the room when my people kill him. I will win this war. _

_Don't you dare think for a second that a few baby dragons will help you. I will crush your army._

_Mark, The Superb Mind, A Man you and Etruria fought a War for_

_Or you could call me Christophe, Leader of the Green Cloaks_

_Also, you won't be getting any reinforcements from the north that you hired. They are occupied right now._

This had to be a joke. Mark has died over ten years ago. However, if it was true, this wasn't going to be an easy victory. King Zephiel had hired the 2 largest mercenary companies of Illia. It cost many fortunes. If they weren't coming than he had to attack now before his foe had more time to prepare.

"Send the orders, it is time to attack."

* * *

><p>"Alright... Can anyone see a door or hatch or something?" Jacob asked. They have reached a dead end.<p>

"I thought you knew your way around!" Luke shouted.

"Like I said, this is the first time I've ever been in a cave. Feel around, you might find something."

This was annoying. Jacob realized that his father probably made it hard to find the escape door. Make it difficult for infiltrators to find an easy in. Great.

A few minutes in Snow exclaimed, "I found something! Yes! YesYesYes! I found it!"

Thoris joined her and they both pulled on a small indent. The wall slowly moved, and Jacob and Luke waited for them to finish. They were greeted with a wooden wall. Luke charged into it and sent it toppling over.

Jacob walked in, "Huh, we're in my dad's office." This was weird, Christophe's office was the highest point in the fort. The escape tunnel he was told about was at the basement.

"Bern's advancing." Thoris said as he gazed out the window.

Jacob approached the window and he suddenly felt nervous. "That is a lot of enemies." The entire Bern army was running at them. Hundreds of wyverns following close behind, then overtaking them. There were dozens of wyverns falling with ballista bolts in them, more falling with the telling signs of long range anima and light magic. The falling bodies seemed to also work as their own kind of bombardment as they crushed the charging ground forces. However there was no way his dad was ready for dragons. "We need to find my dad now and warn him."

Jacob ran out of his father's office and made his to ground level. If his dad was anywhere it would be on the wall watching the enemy advance. As he ran he could feel the ground shake as Bern's army charged, but there was something else. The fort was oddly... empty. Paintings were missing, weapons adorning the walls were missing, all of the furniture was gone.

"Why is this place empty?" Luke asked.

"My dad knew the attack was coming. He had this place emptied. This would have taken days." His dad would have known about Bern's attack before he went on his mission to Sacea to empty the fort completely. His dad knew what was happening.

"How?" Thoris asked.

"I don't know how my dad knew the attack was coming, but he knew." Christophe always knew. Jacob couldn't help but think that maybe his father knew about the dragons already.

They reached the entrance to the fort. It was wide open, though at least the gate at the wall was firmly shut. A mass of staff wielding mages were gathered in the courtyard, and up on the walls, everyone was waiting as Bern's forces charged toward a slaughter. The Wyvern riders were getting close to the first mountain top defenses, some of the mages up there were using close range magic. It looked like it was either Fire or El Fire. One of them was using Divine. Suddenly dozens of Pegasus Knights dove out of the clouds into the Wyverns, slaughtering and breaking their ranks one moment the making a retreat the next, rescuing the mountain top forces before the Bernese soldiers could even consider regrouping to attack. As they flew away a few bolts came upon the defenses, most likely done to destroy the ballista so it couldn't be used by Bern.

Jacob ran onto the walls, "Where's Christophe?" A few of the mercenaries motioned toward the west end of the wall. As he ran toward his dad Jacob noticed that all of the Green Cloaks on the wall were armed with a bow, all ready to unleash a volley of arrows. Many of them weren't experienced with bows. It would hold until the gates were broken.

"Jacob? I thought you were In Sacea?" His dad shouted as they approached. He hadn't taken his eyes off the approaching enemy forces, still about 4 miles from the fort but under a brutal assault that only their wyverns could reach. Christophe was smiling, Jacob was sure that his dad loved the efficiency of the defense.

"Dad, I mean sir. Bern has dragons! Real live dragons!"

"So? I already know that!"

Jacob's jaw dropped. His dad knew? So the rush to get back was completely pointless! He could have gone back to help Marisa! "How long have you known!"

"I've been preparing for this invasion for about five years. Found out that it was actually going to happen a little over a month ago, and I learned about the baby Dragons Bern has about 2 weeks ago." Christophe said as he followed Bern's flyers as they moved toward the second Mountain top defenses.

Jacob was sure that his dad was lying about his knowledge of the Dragons. There was no way he knew about them. It was probably a strong front to inspire confidence. "What do you need us to do?"

"Grab an Iron Bow and get back here." Christophe ordered as he watched his knights pull back from the second Mountain top defenses.

"Thoris, stay here and listen to Christophe. Luke and Snow, follow me." Jacob said as he ran for the armory.

Once they were off the wall they ran into the fort. "Jacob, I've never used a bow before." Luke said.

"You won't learn from me, I can barely hit a target." Jacob said.

"I can show you two!" Snow chimed in.

* * *

><p>"GET BACK IN FORMATION NOW!" Gale screamed at the mess his unit was in. He was not expecting such organized resistance from a pack of mercenaries. His riders weren't ready for this. It seemed the each second was accompanied by thunder and yet another of his people falling. "PURSUE THE ENEMY!"<p>

His disorganized pack took off toward the Pegasus Knights, flying directly toward a flurry of magic and Ballistae bolts. Gale saw that the Green Cloaks also had staff users healing their wounded. This was bad. They needed to get closer to the enemy, he doubted that they would keep attacking with the possibility of hitting their own, and he needed to prevent the enemy from healing.

Gale seized up as lightning coursed through his veins. His wyvern began shaking as his lost his vision for a moment. Gale stared at the enemy Pegasus Knights as they landed near the defenders and fled the position with the mages and archers, barely conscious of what was around him. His wyvern shriek shook him out of his stupor and he righted himself. For the sake of Miledy he couldn't fall here.

Gale directed his wyvern toward the third defensive position, the second abandoned before they got a chance to attack. Gale and his unit continued to fly through the hale of fire and lightning. He looked toward those who flew with him and saw their weary faces. This was not what they were expecting. They were expecting disorganized mercenaries but were met forces waiting for them. There was no glory in this.

The enemy Pegasus Knights landed and released their charges before flying directly towards them. This was good, Gale knew that he had numbers on his side, and their wyverns were much stronger than the pegasi. (pegasuses?) A woman with dark green eyes and light blue hair was leading the charge. Gale took a deep breath as he readied himself. He was higher than she was, he would have more strength behind his attack.

Then Gale saw one of his men ahead of him fall from his mount, a javelin having pierced him from behind. Gale looked back and his eyes widened, there was another group of Pegasus Knights behind and above them. Then he saw his unit of riders do something impossibly foolish, they stopped. Paralyzed with indecision of which way to go, Gale barked, "KEEP CHARGING YOU FOOLS!"

But it was too late, as his people were attacked from three sides the wyvern knights panicked and lost all semblance of order. Gale pulled back on his reigns as the green eyed Pegasus Knight tried to impale his mount with her simple iron lance. The woman quickly turned around, and Gale cursed as he tried to meet the faster knight. Gale threw one of his spears at the woman as she charged again. The Pegasus tucked one wing and swerved out of the way before facing him again. She charged as Gale fumbled to try and grab another spear. He jerked the reins and the Wyvern took a sharp right, and his mount was impaled by the woman. Gale's eyes widened as another knight was flying directly toward him, as the woman twisted her lance and pulled back. Gale tried to maneuver his wounded Wyvern but the wounded beast couldn't move fast enough. His plate armor absorbed the blow, and pushed him off his Wyvern.

Gale's grip tightened on his reins and he dangled against his partner, flying in a downward spiral. He kept his eyes on the battle in the sky, as his people fell in a storm of fire and steel. Gale began pulling himself up as he saw the Pegasus knights worked as one to cut them down.

Gale had heard of the Pegasus Knight's "Triangle Attack," how three knights coordinated with each other to quickly overwhelm an opponent. The fight just seemed to be a large scale version of it.

* * *

><p>Mark was astonished at the poor fighting ability of Bern's flyers. His people may have been out-numbered by at least 30:1 but Bern's wyvern riders fought like it was their first time in battle! Mark had to remind himself that the average soldier has no experience beyond guarding a town from bandits, and even so, those that removed bandit problems were usually hired swords. Still, the fliers were somehow miles behind the foot soldiers. It was pathetic<p>

Mark felt foolish that he failed to consider the simple fact that his people had more combat experience both on the ground and in the air. Most of Bern's army is made up of people who farmed for their whole life until they were conscripted. The only combat experience the veterans had could have been from the war Bern and Etruria fought to try and capture him, and disorganized bandits. This was probably the first time many of Bern's riders fought against a flying enemy. The only real threat were that Dragons, and if everything went according to plan the Dragons would be irrelevant. For this battle.

Bern's ground forces were a little over a mile and a half away, and in the sky his people had just pulled back from the enemy and were moving toward the fourth Mountain Top Defense. Good, it could start soon. The fourth Mountain Top Defense was the last one that would be consumed by the plan, the other two would remain intact. Soon this battle would be over. It would end much sooner than Murdock expected.

Mark watched the battle in the sky, waiting for the ground forces to get close enough to enact the final phase of his plan.

"Dad, they're getting close." Jacob nervously said.

"Relax, everything is going better than I have planned. Bern is going to be devastated after this battle." Mark said with a grin. "To be honest, at this point I expected only one Ballistae to still be firing. The final phase of my plan will be starting soon. It'll crush Bern's army, and that's not a metaphor."

Mark left the wall and gave a nod to a group the group of staff users in the courtyard. in a flash of light the people who were on the fourth MTD (Mountain Top Defense). Mark pulled 8 of them away, the 7 best staff users, and his friend and ally from the war with Nergal, Nino. "Ma- I mean Christophe, is this going to work?"

"Nino, you are the best mage I have ever met, I am sure that you will hit the target." Mark confidently told the woman.

He had been helping Nino since she went searching for Jaffar, trying to help her find the missing assassin. Now he needed her help. "I've never hit something from so far away..."

"Nino, you'll hit it, and even if you miss you have more than one shot. You'll get to watch the chain reaction as you're warped to safety."

* * *

><p>Luke was standing to the right of Jacob on the wall, and Snow was on the left. Luke didn't know what he had gotten himself into. He was a swordsman, holding the bow felt... unnatural. It also seemed that today was his last day to live. Maybe he shouldn't have trusted Jacob and Christophe so much. Bern's forces looked like they were two miles away, at least Luke thought they were. He was never good at judging distances.<p>

Jacob was good at judging distances, at least Luke thought so. Christophe could too. Luke looked behind him and saw Christophe walking away from a group of mages. It was always odd, how different Jacob looked from his dad. Appearance wise they just shared skinniness and a fondness for wearing cloaks.

"Wonder what my dad's planning?" Jacob asked himself.

"You weren't here to see what he did." A woman with jet black hair said. She was standing to the left of Snow.

"What did my dad do Terra?" Jacob asked.

"You'll see, it's impressive. He says that it doesn't run off of magic, but magic starts it. Personally I think it has to be magic. Nothing else could cause that kind of destruction."

"Well now, I'm curious. I suppose he used it to start the avalanches?" Jacob said.

"Yeah, crushed a few of Bern's people and a damned Dragon. A Dragon!"

Suddenly there was a flash of light at the fourth MTD. Luke looked behind him and saw that four of the mages had vanished.

"He's going to trigger it with long range magic and trap them here without supplies?" Jacob said incredulously.

Luke looked back and saw a faint flash of light at the first MTD. Then a bolting spell came down on the peak near entrance to the pass. Then a second. Then a third.

"Blast it, I think something's wrong." Terra said.

Suddenly a fourth came down and the peak exploded, and the explosion followed some invisible path toward the fort as the thunderous boom it created grew as it approached. The bursting kept approaching, covering miles in seconds as it engulfed the first MTD. Luke looked back and let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the mages had reappeared. Luke looked back as the second MTD was blasted into the sky.

"He's going to literally crush Bern's army. How did he do this!" Jacob said as the explosions ended, he almost sounded giddy as they watched a wave of avalanches move forward, crushing the Bernese forces.

"We might not even have to fight them." Luke said. Dozens of the people in the mass of soldiers transformed into Dragons and charged through the ranks, crushing people beneath them as the Bernese army went into a frenzy. There were even a few soldiers who tried to climb the opposite side, hoping to escape the wave of ice, snow and rock.

"Not fighting them on the ground is a part of my plan." Christophe said. Luke quickly turned and saw that the master strategist was behind him.

"Dad, what is this?"

"A mixture I made with charcoal, sulfur, and vesta powder. I even discovered a way to produce my own vesta with manure, mortar, urine and straw, instead of just finding natural deposits of the stuff I need to make it. And look at the destruction I wrought with a simple black powder. Been making it for 3 years. Don't have a name for it yet." Christophe said with a grin. "Unfortunately, I won't have time to make more, I'll have to make due with an extremely limited supply."

"Um... what's vesta powder?" Snow asked.

"It's normally used for preserving meats. How did you figure out how to make this?" Jacob said as the avalanches reached their conclusion. it seemed the a lot of the enemy wasn't crushed, there were even 2 Dragons.

"By accident, I'm just lucky that this accident worked so well. By Saint Elimine, look up. This is...Perfect." Christophe said breathlessly.

Luke looked up, and saw Bern's Wyvern Knights, the pride of their military, retreating. The Pegasus Knights and the MTDs weren't making the retreat easy. "There's no reason for them to keep fighting. It's not like if they win up there they'll be able to pass through."

"That's an astute observation... Luke, right?" Christophe said. "Either way, the people on the ground, what's left of them, are coming."

Luke looked down and saw that they were charging, 2 Dragons at the front. There weren't a lot of them, maybe 100, probably less. The tiny charge was out numbered, they were getting really close, and were under fire from the two remaining MTDs.

"ARCHERS, READY!" Luke wasn't sure who said that, but he brought his bow up with an arrow at the ready. He saw that Christophe was the only one unarmed. "PULL BACK!" He pulled the bow string, looking down the arrow at the enemy. One of the Dragons was hit by a Ballistae bolt, it pierced the thick scales on the Dragon's back. It reared up and was hit again in the stomach, followed by a sudden bursting light that blew the Dragon back. They were almost here. Why hadn't they surrendered? They were clearly outmatched, anyone could see it. "FIRE!" Luke released and lost his arrow as the mass of them descended on the soldiers. The charging enemy collapsed, leaving only a few terrified men and one irate Dragon with an arrow in its eye."FIRE AT WILL!"

Luke tried to knock an arrow but fumbled and dropped it, he growled at himself. He should not be using a bow. Luke successfully knocked an arrow and pointed it at the Dragon, the last enemy standing. Its other eye had been blinded and it was shrieking in pain as hundreds of arrows came down on it, most bouncing harmlessly off its scales.

BOOM!

A bolt of lightning came down, barely missing the beast as it reared up, exposing its belly. This proved to be fatal as the arrows easily pierced the Dragon's belly, and the beast fell onto its back under the vicious assault.

BOOM!

Another Bolting came down, and Luke saw the Dragon seize up at electricity flowed through it. It wasn't moving anymore as the hail of arrows continued

BOOM!

That one seemed unnecessary, as the hail of arrows stopped.

"Is it dead?" One of the mercenaries shouted.

"Hit it with another Bolting, just to be sure." Christophe shouted.

BOOM!

"That should be good. Everyone get ready, we still need to empty the armory. We're leaving before nightfall." Christophe shouted.

* * *

><p>The way was blocked. They collapsed the pass. Mark collapsed the pass. He chose to block off one of the most important trade routes in the world. Murdock couldn't believe it. They could try clearing the pass, but what if they were waiting to crush his forces again. Thousands of Bern men and women were dead. He had lost more than half of his invasion force in one battle.<p>

In a short battle.

There was no way they could consider taking the Sanashen Pass so long as there were Green Cloaks. They had to be careful around any mountains. He needed to contact Brunya, have her invade before the Green Cloaks try to block off the other viable paths into Ilia.

"General Murdock, sir." Gale announced himself.

Murdock looked up at his lieutenant. "Send the word, we are pulling back and finding another way into Ilia."

"Understood General."

* * *

><p>Jacob was hefting a heavy pack as he walked to the dungeon of the fort. His dad had a <em>special <em>assignment for him. All that meant was that he wouldn't be helping fight Bern. Instead he was going to Lycia. He had to deliver a package to either Ostia or Pherae. The package was two thick books, and a large envelope.

Jacob reached the dungeon and saw his dad at the end with four others by lamp hanging on the wall. Luke, Snow and Thoris were there, the last was a short, thin girl he had never seen before. She had long, red hair, and dark brown eyes.

"Jacob, on the assignment I'm giving you these four will help. Snow, Luke, Koi, and Thoris, you are all going to Lycia. Jacob's in charge. Snow, we'll have a Pegasus waiting for you at the end of this tunnel." Christophe said as he grabbed the hook the lamp was hanging on and pulled, revealing a secret exit. "Don't stop for anything."

"Dad, is that a second emergency escape tunnel?"

"Jacob, we have four in this base. Now get moving."

"What about Marisa."

"No, don't go after her. You don't have time. Get the message to Lycia. It's more important to the defense of Ilia."

* * *

><p><em>Personnel file, from the desk of Christophe.<em>

_Koi, age 14, recruit. Skilled at a D level with Staves. Quiet, focused girl. Learned to heal as a cleric for the Elimine Church, but was saved by our group when bandits attacked the village her church was in. Village also saved. Offered a large sum of gold and her services as thanks, took half the gold and her services. Excellent at toning out the chaos around her to effectively heal, yet has trouble with situational awareness. Has trouble picking up magic for combat purposes, due to her pacifistic tendencies. Believes she owes a debt that can never be repaid. Works for food, not gold. _

_Thoris, age unknown, probably 17. A Sacaen who is loyal to Sacae. Wants to stay with Jacob, reasons unknown. Made him swear an oath to protect Jacob._

_Mark's Journal from the war with Nergal, observation of the people here_

_Nino, age 14. Skilled at a C level at Anima magic. She's improving very quickly, probably a prodigy that has been neglected by that cruel morph Sonia. Though I have trouble understanding why the morph was created with such cruelty. Perhaps it makes them easier to control. We should keep her in the group, as it keeps Jaffar on our side. I'd rather not have him as an enemy.  
><em>(Added at a later date)  
><em>Nino revised. Skilled at an A level at Anima magic, and an E level with Staves. She can't read, yet she can use magic tomes, even El-fire! Now I know that she is a prodigy. I've assigned Erk to teach her how to read. I don't think Erk enjoys teaching her, as Jaffar is always watching him. there doesn't seem to be any malevolent intent or glares, but just Jaffar's normal face, which I suppose is scary. Erk must be terrified. Still, I have trouble imagining how incompetent Sonia is, if she taught this girl even the bare minimum then she would already be an incredibly powerful mage. Thank Elimine Nergal didn't raise her the same way as Jaffar<em>

_Christophe's mission files_

_Client : Nino, Mission : Find her husband, Jaffar, Length : Long-Term  
>Intel : Bounty hunters have been coming after Jaffar. He had been killing them off, however the last group took his newborn sons, Lugh and Ray, and used them as leverage. Jaffar left to protect them, Nino is pursuing Jaffar. Legault has no information on his whereabouts. No other sources of information at present<br>Cost : 2000 gold a year (Being paid by myself)  
>Reward : Helping a friend<br>Status : in progress_

_Client : 38 different merchants, Mission : Secure the fort in the Sanashen Mountain Pass, Length : 2 weeks  
>Intel : Currently occupied by bandits, who charge large sums for merchants to pass. It is still safer to use the pass than to go around, as it would double the length of the trip and leave them vulnerable to more bandits, or by boat, since the sea route is plagued by pirates neither Bern, Sacae, or Ilia can eliminate. Cave connected to the fort that has an aquifer. Planning to dig our way into the cave and enter the fort through the back.<br>Cost : 10,000 gold, and at least 3 Green Cloak deaths  
>Reward : 200,000 gold, one of the most defensible forts ever built, and undisputed control of a trade route with very heavy traffic.<br>Status : Completed at a cost of 4,000 gold and 0 Green Cloak deaths_

_Christophe's secret weapon's notes_

_test 48, mixture of toluon, aqua fortus, and vitriol. This created a pale yellow crystalline solid that was highly toxic. It is a failure for my purposes, though I may find possible uses for it. _(AN : This is actually the beginning phase of making a very well know explosive you get a cookie if you can tell me what it is)

_test 68, mixture of charcoal, sulfur, and vesta powder. Produced a flammable black powder. When put into a sealed container and ignited creates an explosion of sufficient force. Sulfur and charcoal work as the fuel for the reaction. Have not figured out why it doesn't work as well without vesta powder. Seems to combust faster as a finer powder. This can be achieved by mixing with water, drying it into blocks, then manually crushing it. Tested the finer powder version at a remote mountain. Can successfully cause an avalanche, and can work in a chain reaction. It is an __explosive__ success. People who know of its existence : Soph, Marisa, Christophe, Jack, and Miyuni. Those who know how to make it : Christophe_

* * *

><p>AN : This chapter just kept getting longer and longer. I wanted to fit the entire battle for the Sanashen Mountain Pass into one chapter, and it was supposed to be a short battle too. I did not think that it would take me so long. I kept making changes, including why Murdock would send his people into such a horrible battle. I want to make both Murdock and Brunya intelligent Generals who don't make Hollywood mistakes.<p>

So I had to make the Sanashen Mountain Pass more valuable. Made constant revisions. God, if this weren't so fun it would be work.

So, tell me what you think of the battle, and the end chapter notes.

Review please

This is Lee, and I'm out!


	4. Chapter 3 : Ostian Preparations

I do not own fire emblem

AN : This took a while. Originally this was going to be the beginning of the battle for Ostia, but I felt that nothing led up to the fight. This is meant to lead up to the battle. That's next chapter, though I'll be honest, I'm not satisfied with this. Ah well.

Also, for the compounds, Test 48 is the beginning process for making TNT, Test 68 is Black powder

* * *

><p><em>We've almost reached Lycia. It's been a really peaceful journey, to the point of being BORING. My dad supplied us with enough gold to buy everything we'd need, Luke even joked that when he writes his memoires that he's going to make this part more dramatic. Shouldn't be that difficult considering that anything would be more exciting than this trip. We don't know what we're going to find when we reach Lycia, probably nothing. I highly doubt that Bern will invade them while my dad is keeping them busy.<em>

_I've been doing what I can to keep from being complacent, but I'm just not used to being so stagnant. Sure, I'm traveling to Lycia but I feel like I'm doing nothing. Of course now that I wrote that something horrible is going to happen._

_I wish we were defending Ilia. For now, I'll just try to pick the locks on the two books my dad left with me. They are very well made. Also, who puts locks on books? I almost have trouble believing that my dad was this paranoid._

* * *

><p>Jacob sat, waiting for the ink to dry. He gazed up toward the sky and grinned. They were almost there. He had the last watch, soon, he'd wake his people up, and they'd enter Lycia, go to Ostia, and deliver their message to Lord Hector. Then whatever his father's plan was would come to fruition. Everything was going to work out.<p>

Jacob glanced over at the two books. The locks on them were complex, more complex than any locks he had ever seen before. They were probably custom made. Then there was the envelope he was given, it had instructions that specifically stated that those who had the keys to open the books were either Lord Eliwood of Pherae or Lord Hector of Ostia.

Jacob glanced at the rising sun. It was time. "WAKE UP!"

Thoris, Luke, and Snow were quick to pull themselves up, while Koi continued to sleep soundly. Jacob groaned in annoyance, it has been a month, and Koi still didn't quickly rise. Luke pinched her nose, and she flailed about for a moment to slap the swordsman's hand away. "What's going on?" Koi asked with a yawn.

"Wake up. We're leaving." Jacob said as he grabbed his pack. He already had everything ready. "We have five minutes, then we're on the move."

* * *

><p>They were just leaving the gates open? Jacob had trouble fathoming the insanity of it all. They were going to be at war soon, and he hoped that they were well enough informed to at least be semi-prepared.<p>

"Strait to the castle?" Luke asked.

"No, I'm going by myself. You all find an inn."

"We aren't staying at the castle?"

"They're going to be at war, and as of yet we are an unknown force. I'm not going to assume that they'll trust me just because I want to help them. Find an inn, I'll send for you if it's safe. If I don't contact you later today, assume something bad happened." Jacob said before they all dispersed.

He made his way through the subdued city. There was an increased military presence, and the people seemed downtrodden. Jacob approached the mighty castle Ostia, said to be impregnable. Jacob paused for a moment, trying to remember the code he had been given. Jacob put a steely look on his face and marched forward to the pair of soldiers guarding the gate.

"What is it citizen?" The guard politely asked.

"I have a message for the highest ranking person in the castle. Tell them the code, Dragons of Dread Isle. Understood?" Jacob sternly said with a sense of desperate urgency.

"What?" One of the guards asked, slight worry in his tone.

"Dragons of Dread Isle? What does that even mean?"

"Look, I..." Jacob swallowed deeply, trying to make himself look terrified. "I need to get this information to your leader soon, I don't care if you have to take all my weapons or strip me down, but I need to get this information in as soon as possible. Give someone inside the code, Dragons of Dread Isle." Jacob said in a pleading tone. He had to keep the look of satisfaction off his face as one of the guards ran inside, shouting the code out as he ran.

Jacob didn't know what the code meant, it probably had some kind of deeper meaning he was unaware of. Still, the orders from his father convinced him that Lord Ostia or Pherae would know what it meant, or barring them someone important in the castle. He knew where Dread Isle was, but didn't understand what the Dragon part meant. As far as Jacob could remember, none of the myths concerning Dread Isle mentioned dragons.

He wasn't sure how long he had waited when the guard returned. "Come with me right away, General Leygance would like to see you."

"Thank you very much, lets hurry."

* * *

><p>Koi was pacing through the hotel room. Jacob had been gone for the whole day, and no message had been sent. She was worried. Sure, she didn't like him, always acting like everyone should listen to his every word, but right now she was praying for his safety. She owed the Green Cloaks, and she would do everything she could to help them.<p>

Luke was downstairs, in the pub trying to get a feel for how Lycia was faring, it seems that Bern had invaded this nation as well.

Thoris was sitting on his bedroll, seeming to ignore the bed provided to him. Koi wasn't sure what he was doing, probably praying to the Sacaens "Mother Sky and Father Earth" or whatever it was those nomads believed.

Snow, on the other hand...

"He should have sent something by now." Snow said as she restlessly tapped on the bed frame. "He's hurt, or the knights attacked him! Or maybe he's dead! By Elemine don't let him be hurt!"

Koi let out a sigh, Snow had been panicking for an hour now. "Miss Snow, please, pray with me." Hopefully that would calm the girl down, the last thing she needed was her comrade having a panic attack.

"Why? We should go to the castle and see if everything is alright!"

"Snow, please, just pray with me for a moment." Koi gently requested.

"Koi, grow a backbone, Snow, stop having a Goddamn panic attack. I've got news." Luke said as he marched into the room. "It's not good."

Koi stayed silent, a little afraid of the grim look on Luke's face. "What did you learn?" Snow asked.

"The obvious is that Bern is at war with Lycia, if the timings right about a week after Bern went to war with Ilia. Bad news is that the Lycia Alliance Army has been decimated at Araphen, by an army led by Brunya, Narshen, and King Zephiel. Lord Hector is dead." Luke announced with a deep frown.

"...Then who's in charge of Castle Ostia?" Snow hesitantly asked.

"General Leygance, who has decided to surrender to Bern, and has taken Princess Lilina hostage. Others in the Lycia Alliance have surrendered, like Laus. Most of Lycia has been lost." A silence fell over the group. Koi was waiting for Luke to give orders, hoping that he would know what to do. "So, any ideas?" Koi's hopes were shattered.

"Good news?" Snow asked.

"There's some group led by a boy named Roy. He's from Pherae, and his group is small. He's still fighting against Bern, don't know where he is. However, there are three other Ilian mercenaries in the city, they were hired by Lord Hector to fight Bern. If we find them we should have a few more allies." Luke listed off. "I don't think we should go to Roy for help, his group is small and ill equipped, from what I've heard. I think our best bet is to rally the Ostian forces in the city against the rebels, and join up with the other Ilians in the city."

"No, we can't win unless we have help! Christophe wanted the message delivered to either Ostia or Pherae, we can go to Pherae for help!" Snow shouted. Koi thought her plan was foolhardy, Pherae was on the other side of Lycia.

"Look at the map. Pherae is at least 2 weeks away. We need something closer." Thoris said.

"There's Thria?" Snow asked hopefully.

"Fine, go to castle Thria, I don't care, we'll be better off without you." Luke said. Koi flinched at Luke cruel words, he was no Jacob. Sure, Koi thought that Snow's idea was bad, but Luke just told her to leave!

"Then BYE! I'LL SAVE JACOB WITHOUT YOU!" Snow said as she ran out.

Luke, Koi, and Thoris sat in silence for a moment. "Damn, I really should have dealt with that better. Well, we still need a plan..." Luke lamely said.

"Jacob is better at this than you." Koi said without thinking.

"Yeah, he is. Wonder what he's doing right now?"

* * *

><p>Her new cellmate sighed. Again. He hadn't been in the cell for even an hour, but he was radiating a feeling a pure dread. She shared his feelings, even now she wondered what the state of Ostia was, why she was in a cell, what the reason for all this was. Why she was betrayed.<p>

She looked toward him again as he shrank back into his green cloak, the only visible feature his piercing golden eyes. He hadn't said a word since he was locked up beyond annoyed grunts and tired sighs, and he did those fairly often. It was like he was waiting for something.

"Finally, he fell asleep." Her cellmate said.

"Who's sleeping?" She asked.

"The guard, you can tell from the way he's breathing, he doesn't snore, but I'm certain that he's asleep. So, cellmate, got a name?" He asked with an annoyed look on his face.

"I am Lilina."

"The Princess?" He asked incredulously. "Things are worse than I thought. I'm assuming Bern's invaded then?"

"Um... Yes?" He didn't know that Bern invaded? How could someone not know that Lycia was at war? "How do you not know this?"

"I just entered Lycia from Etruria, and most Etrurians don't care. Most didn't know that Ilia had been attacked, or that Sacae had been conquered. Now, Princess Lilina, correct me if I'm wrong. When the war first started, Lord Hector amassed the Ostian army and united the forces of all of the Marquises of Lycia, naturally Hector would be leading the united Lycian army since Ostia is the strongest both economically and militarily, right?"

"Ye-yes!" Lilina couldn't believe it, were they that predictable?

"The most likely place to mass the Lycian army would be Araphen, easy to defend, a natural chokepoint, and it's a nice fort."

"So what happened?" He had been right so far, though Lilina knew that if her father's plan was so predictable that it couldn't mean anything good.

"Do you know about the dragons?" Lilina looked at him like he was insane. "Of course you don't know, so I'll be blunt, Bern has dragons fighting alongside them."

Lilina gasped, this had to be impossible. Dragons were a legend, a creature of the Scouring, something that couldn't be in a real world. "That... How?"

"I don't know, all I can say is that I first saw them on the plains of Sacae, when the Dragon General Brunya and her allies in the Djute tribe attacked. The remainder of my team and I fled to the Green Cloak base at the Sanashen Pass, where we saw an army of thousands led by the Dragon General Murdock ready to attack. We infiltrated our base in time to see my dad pull a victory out of nowhere, and saw two people turn into Dragons, then saw the two Dragons killed."

"People turned into Dragons?" This couldn't be real, her father wouldn't be ready for this, Dragon's just appearing right in front of you, poised to attack. How would you prepare for that? "How...how did your father beat them?"

"He knew about them ahead of time, though I don't know how. I don't know how, but my dad always seems to know."

"What do you think happened at Araphen? Do you think my father knew about the Dragons?"

"Lilina, I'll be completely honest with you. Based on the fact that you're in a cell, Araphen was a devastating defeat that annihilated the Lycean Army, and the reason you are locked up is because enough of the Ostian knight believe that there is no hope of winning. They are trying to hand Ostia to Bern, and they're using you to make sure no one fights."

"That... That can't..." She knew it was right. She steeled her nerves, she was a warrior's daughter, she was the daughter of Lord Hector, and she had been trained to not panic in times like this.

"Uh, that is just one of many possibilities." It was obvious that he was trying to make her feel better.

"But... you think that's what happened."

He sighed again. "Yes, look, I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but, I'm not going to sugar coat it for you. Alright? I hope it isn't that bad, but don't get your hopes up."

"Thank you..." He was honest, no one else was willing to tell her what they knew. They all should have told her.

"Lilina, I have no clue why you're thanking me, and I suppose it doesn't matter. I will promise you this ; I will do everything I can to make sure Ostia doesn't fall to Bern."

"How?"

"I have allies, I just hope they can do something useful without my help. Don't worry, whatever happens, I'm ready."

* * *

><p>Roy was marching through Castle Thria. The war seemed hopeless, first Lord Hector had been killed in battle at Araphen while facing 2 Dragon Generals and King Zephiel, then Lord Erik betrayed the Alliance, bandits were running rampant, now Lord Orun had been murdered by his own people. It seemed like he and his forces were all that stood against Bern. Though he had only fought one battle against forces actually employed by Bern.<p>

At that moment Roy saw the graying Marcus running toward him. "Master Roy! A Pegasus Knight has arrived from Ostia with a message for you!"

"Take me to her right away." A message from Ostia, he was certain that it couldn't be good.

Roy followed Marcus into the courtyard, and saw a girl draped in a green cloak standing beside her Pegasus. "My Lord Roy, Ostia is in need of support."

Roy felt a pit form in his stomach, but quickly steeled his resolve. "What happened?"

"General Leygance has taken control of Ostia, and he has taken Princess Lilina hostage."

Roy felt a lump form in his throat. He forced the feeling down. "Marcus, I want everyone ready to move on the hour. We are going to Ostia. Knight?"

"My name is Snow, Lord Roy." Snow said.

"Miss Snow, I want you to tell me everything you know." Roy silently prayed for his dear friend.

* * *

><p><em>Mark's Journal, Defensible Positions, Cities, Castles.<br>Ostia  
>Easily defended, very large number of armored knight, slow moving, sluggish. Biggest threat of Ostia's forces are their very active and efficient spy network. To counter Ostian knights, utilize speed and magic. They have next to no protection against magic, and are very vulnerable to flanking maneuvers. The Ostian forces are made to be on the defensive, but are not effective on the offensive. Try to draw Ostian forces toward you, their sluggish pace makes them easy to counter. Castle Ostia has narrow corridors, clearly favoring the heavily armored Ostian knights. If you are forced to attack the castle, be sure to attack from multiple sides. On the east side of the castle Ostia there is a narrow exit, could sneak in 6 or 7 people in before Ostian forces close it off. A good distraction so that a larger force can get in through the main entrance.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Nergal's assault on Ostia<br>Some kind of mass teleportation magic was used to move a small army into the Castle. The exact method is as of yet unknown, but it is most likely quintessence enhanced warp magic. The small army of morphs he sent devastated the guard, but we were able to eliminate their prescience. The Ostian guard were too aggressive, ill prepared and ill equipped to fend off the assault. The morph army use of magic and arrows designed to pierce armor devastated Ostia's armor. It was especially telling how poorly prepared Ostia was considering the intellect of the morphs._

_The morphs were so foolish. Beyond the warp inside and throwing themselves at us, they showed no tactical insight, none of them were even capable of expressing pain. Only one could talk, and it only said "This is a message from Lord Nergal, I await you on Dread Isle." I simply can't understand it, if I had been commanding the morph forces I could have taken Ostia without a single casualty, or injury for that matter. The morphs had surprise, they were physically stronger, and they outnumbered us. Instead everyone who listened to me survived, and all of the morphs were eliminated before reinforcements got orders to come and help. If the remnants of the Ostian guard listened to me they wouldn't have died, but I can't be held responsible for the actions of those who don't follow orders._

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><p>AN : Don't have much to say, except that the next chapter will be a battle both in the castle and in the streets. Well, read and review!<p>

This is Lee, and I'm out!


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